TETHYS AND THALASSA IN MOSAIC ART

Tethys who represents the feminine fertility of the fresh water in the Greek mythology, was among the Titans, the children of the first generation of God and Goddess. Tethys, as being a sister/wife of Oceanus, the stream encircling earth, was depicted frequently in the Roman Imperial Period, especially on the mosaic pavements of pools and baths. In the mosaics of the Early Roman Period she accompanied her husband Oceanus with the sea monster Cetus who wraps her neck. From the 3rd century A.D. on, Tethys has been depicted alone, e.g. without her husband on the mosaics and then, the expression of Tethys was integrated with Thalassa, who also symbolizes the sea. This paper focuses on the reasons why the figures of Tethys depicted in the mosaics have turned into the figures of Thalassa. In order to explain the topic, firstly the similarities and differences among the Tethys-depicted mosaics will be compared and contrastedchronologically.